Six bodies found in Karnataka lake; probe underway

Six bodies, including those of a woman and her five children, were recovered from a lake in Karnataka's Vijayapura district on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, prompting a police investigation into the circumstances of their deaths. The deceased have been identified as Shobha Jalageri, 35, and her children Vidya, 15, Suvarna, 13, Tippayya, 12, Sanika, 10, and Vikas, 6.

Vijayapura Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi stated that police received information around 8:45 a.m. about six bodies floating in Bhutnal Lake. Police and Fire Department teams responded to the scene and recovered the bodies, which were subsequently sent to BLDE Hospital for postmortem examinations. "At this stage, it appears they may have come to the lake and died by suicide or in a similar incident," Nimbargi told reporters, adding that the actual cause of death would be determined by forensic, FSL, and postmortem reports.

The discovery followed a missing person complaint filed on August 24 by Shobha's husband, Mallikarjun Jalageri. According to police, Shobha left her home around 6 a.m. that day with four of her children after a reported domestic dispute. She later went to a hostel to collect her youngest...